I Volunteer
by TaskAgentK
Summary: What if Katniss had a twin sister called Kerry? What if Katniss was too slow at volunteering and Kerry got there first? Watch Kerry's journey through heartbreak, turmoil, and most of all death. Watch Kerry's journey through the Hunger Games!
1. Chapter 1

"Is Gale going to be here soon?" I ask my twin as we sit huddled in the shelter of an old tree.  
"He'll be here when he's here, okay?" Answers Katniss.  
"Katniss, I-I'm worried. What if prim..."  
"I know Kerry, but she's only been entered once." She glares into the distance and sighs. "I hate Reaping Day."  
"Katniss? Kerry? You there yet?" We hear Gale call.  
"Here." I say, waving to him.  
"Ah! And how are my two favorite girls?" He asks, grinning as he squishes between the two almost identical sisters. My hair is slightly longer and wavier although we both have the same shade of brown. Katniss always wears her's in braids where as I always let mine flow in soft curls down my back. The only other difference is our eyes. Katniss has the traditional gray eyes of the seam, where as mine are an electric blue. I rest my head softly on Gale's shoulder and sigh.  
"I'm scared Gale." I admit. Gale's always been able to read me like a book so I see no point in lying to him now.  
"What about, Snippet?" He asks gently, using his nickname he's had for me since we first met. He calls me Snippet and Katniss, Catnip. It's because, I'm not short, but I'm shorter than him. With Katniss it was because the first time we met him, he thought she said her name was Catnip. That lynx following her around didn't help.  
"It's Prim's first reaping. If she got picked..." I close my eyes tight to contain the tears that threaten to overflow. "But that won't happen. It won't. She's only been entered once." I say firmly, more to convince me than anyone else.  
Gale puts a strong and reassuring arm around both me and Katniss. I stand up and stretch out my muscles.  
"We can't just sit around all day." I state, turning round. "Now let's go catch something before the reaping."  
I walk over to my favorite hiding place, a hollow old tree trunk, and open it up. I grab me and Katniss' weapons and sort through them. A bow, arrows and a dagger for Katniss, and a sword, a spear and a dagger for me. We start heading out, catching a few birds when I spot the motherlode. A deer. I get my stance right and prepare before I thrust my spear, making a clean kill.  
"Katniss! Gale!" I shout. "Come here!"  
I hear the crunching of twigs as an annoyed looking Katniss comes through the trees.  
"I almost had a chicken! A wild chicken! We haven't seen wild chickens for months!" Grumbles Katniss.  
"Oh my God! Well done Snippet!" Gale says, spotting my catch. He walks over to me and ruffles my hair. Suddenly Katniss catches sight of my kill.  
"Oh my… Well done! We can sell this at the butchers!" She says, grabbing me into a hug. I feel Gale's arms wrap around the two of us and I relax.  
"Come on." Gale whispers softly. "We have to sell this and get ready."  
We pull apart and start picking up the large deer. As we carry it back through the forest we pick berries as we pass them, also collecting the contents of all our snares. We go to the most shaded and hidden part of fence and find a gap big enough. We pause for a moment, and with the silence that greets us we slip back under the fence, into district 12 once more. We find small deserted back alleys and go undetected. We reach the back door of the butchers. Gale knocks and we wait quietly until Rooba comes to the door.

"Anything for me to buy?" She asks instantly and her eyes flick over to the large deer. She steps back inside and returns with a pouch of money. She hands it to Gale who nods his approval at the amount. We help her carry it in to the butchers.

"Thank you." She says.

"Our pleasure Rooba." I say as we leave and walk towards the Hob.

"Three bowls please." Says Gale as we stand in front of Greasy Sae's soup stall. We get our soup and head to a small table at the back. We happily relax, eating our soup and joking but at 12 o'clock we stop laughing. We get up, the mood suddenly tense and serious. I give Gale a fierce hug.

"Good luck, okay?" I say, my voice cracking with anxiety.

"I'll be fine. It's my last year, I'll be okay." He says gently. He ruffles my hair once more. "I've got to go get ready. Goodbye."

Gale walks away and I turn round to face Katniss.

"Let's go home and get ready." Katniss says, and we turn round. We walk silently through the seam to our home. As we step through the door with the money and food, we see Prim all dressed up.

"Good, you girls are home. Have a bath and then I have clothes prepared for you both." Says mother, pushing her blonde hair out of her face.

"Thank you mother." I walk to her and give her a hug. I remember when dad died. She went into a dark depression, and I'm slightly more considerate of this than Katniss. Katniss fills up the tin bath with fresh water and gets in first. I walk over to Prim and sit beside her and Buttercup. I stroke Buttercup and he purrs. It's funny because although he loves Prim and I, he hates Katniss. I notice the back of Prim's shirt is untucked.

"Tuck your tail in, little duck." I say in a cheery voice.

"What-What if I get reaped, Kerry?" Asks Prim, in a voice that is shaking with fear.

"You won't, you've only been entered once. The odds are completely in your favour. Now give me a hug." I say, pulling Prim in. Katniss comes over in a towel.

"The baths free Kerry." And she walks away to dry her hair. I stand up and walk over to the bath. I put my finger in and test the water. Still quite warm. I get in and sit back, relaxing. I clean myself and get out, with a towel securely wrapped around me. As I walk over to where my mother is I hear Katniss exclaim, "Mum... I can't believe it... Thank you."

I walk into the room to see Katniss standing in a gorgeous, knee-length, deep green dress with a brown belt. Katniss has her hair up in a braid on the top of her head. I walk over and my mother hands me a dress as well.

"From my old Apothecary days. Go on, put it on." Says my mother. I slip it on before I look at it closely. A glorious yellow velvet dress that stopped just above the knees. At the waist was a yellow velvet bow, and it had no sleeves.

"Mum..." I say, shocked. "Thank you." I envelope her in a big hug.

"My three gorgeous girls, let's get going." She says, rounding us all up and herding us towards the door. We walk slowly down to the town square and split up to stand in our age groups. I stand silently as the symbol of Panem flashes onto the screen.

_**Hellooooooo! Hope it was okay, it's just the idea for this came to me while I was lying in bed meant to be asleep... :P anyway... BLOB! Hope you enjoy! Oh and please read XxDaughterofPoseidonxX 's stories, (they're demi-god ones) 'The Time of Mother Earth' and 'Who am I?' because they're great!**_


	2. Chapter 2

I don't listen to the President's speech, it's always the same. We own you, we beat you in your rebellion, we can take your children and slaughter them, you can't do a thing to stop us. Suddenly Effie Trinket, our escort this year, is speaking in her Capitol accent. She wears a deep pink skirt and matching jacket. Her hair is a light pink shade and her make-up ties in with the whole pink theme.  
"Ladies first I think," She says, and I realize where we've got to. She swishes her hand around the giant bowl of paper, all with a name on it. She finally picks up a piece of paper in her boney hand. She lifts it up to her face and reads the name.  
"Primrose Everdeen!"  
I freeze for a moment as Prim is taken out of the crowd, before my brain goes into hyperdrive. The words are out of my mouth before Katniss even has the opportunity to think of that possibility.  
"I volunteer as tribute!" I shout out. All eyes turn to me and Prim starts crying, clawing her way to me. I calmly step out of the crowd when I feel a Hand on my arm. I turn round to see Katniss. I push her hand off my arm and give her a small nod. I turn round once more, and continue up to the stage. When I look over the crowd I see Gale helping mother hold Prim back.  
"Ahh, now this is what we like to see! So what's your name, young lady?" Asks Effie, in her annoying little sing-song voice.  
"Kerry Everdeen." I say loudly, trying to stand tall even though hundreds of eyes stare at me.  
"I bet that was your sister there, wasn't it? Anyway, a big round of applause for our District 12 girl tribute!"  
The people of District 12 do not clap; instead, they are silent. They then give me the three fingered salute of the district, a gesture rarely used, meaning thanks, admiration, and good-bye to a loved one. Effie seems shocked by this downright disrespect but she quickly hides this.  
"On to the boys then." She says, being much faster than last time. She quickly picks out a piece of paper. She reads it and clears her throat.  
"Peeta Mellark!"  
Out of the crowds comes a sandy-blonde haired boy. Peeta, he's my age. He walks up to the stage and stands there silently, but I can see the fear etched on his face. I know him. All too well.  
"Shake hands." Effie urges and I hold out my hand. He shakes it briefly before we break apart and look forwards again.  
"Thank you District 12! Our tributes!" Effie then leads us back through the doors of the justice building and shows us to separate rooms. Time for our goodbyes. I sit down on the large plush seat. I rest my head back and what seems like a millisecond later my mother, Prim and Katniss enter the room.  
"Why did you do that Kerry! I don't want you to go! We need you!" Prim starts to wail. She runs over to me and I sit her on my knee. I gently rock her, attempting to calm her.  
"You need to remember everything. Katniss and Gale can hunt and trade, and you've just gotta stay in school and keep your grades up... And mum" I say, looking her straight in the eye. "It can't be like when dad died." She flinches slightly at my words. "You have to be strong. For Katniss. For Prim. For me." I give them all big hugs before peacekeepers drag them away. Literally in Prim's case. As she gets taken she wails out "You have to try Kerry! You have to try and win!" . I know she probably can't here me, but just as she goes through the door I whisper a soft, "I promise."  
I sit quietly, alone, waiting for Gale who will probably come in right about-  
"Kerry!" Now.  
"Gale."  
"What were you thinking?" He asks, running a hand through his brown hair as he paces the room.  
"I was thinking that Prim is 12. She has so much life left to life. She's my little sister. I couldn't let her go through the games." I say, sitting unusually calmly on the large sofa.  
"You could win this. You can hunt. Just think of them like animals." Gale says, trying anything to motivate me.  
"Twenty four go in Gale and only one comes out." I say gently. He walks over to me and gives me a hug. I squeeze him tight and let a single tear fall. As a peacekeeper enters to take him away I give him a last, sad look.  
"Goodbye Gale. Look after them."  
With that he is dragged out of the room looking at me with wide eyes, full of shock and fear. He knows I don't really believe I can do it. He knows I've pretty much given up hope.  
When the door opens again I'm shocked. Madge Undersee, daughter of the Mayor. Katniss and I never really had any friends but Madge, like us, was quiet and she would sit with us at lunch.  
"Madge..." I say, the shock evident in my voice.  
"Hello Kerry. I just want to say, that was very brave of you. And I have something for you." She reaches into her pocket and takes out two pieces of jewelry. "Your allowed to take little keepsakes of your district in."  
She hands me the jewelry and I marvel in their glory. One is a golden broach and the other is a silver locket. I look at the broach first.  
A golden circular ring, with a Mockingjay inside, balancing on an arrow. I then l look at the locket. Simple silver chain with a silver oval hanging on that opens up to a space for 2 photos. On the front of it, instead of it being blank, it has many MockingJays balancing on branches. On the inside it is empty.  
"Madge, I can't take this!" I start but Madge quickly chips in.  
"Kerry please. I want you to have them. Please take them."  
"But... um... the locket, it's empty." Is all I manage to think of, and I stutter it out. Madge let's a weak smile cross her features as a peacekeeper enters to take her away. Just as madge is leaving through the door she speaks.  
"You'll just have to fill the locket when you come back." She leaves and I am alone once more. My goodbyes are done and as another peacekeeper enters to take me to the train I get up, complying.  
I am led to the side door of the justice building and start to step through it when Mr Mellark, Peeta's father, runs up to me, a small paper bag in his hand. He presses it firmly into mine as he says, "I'll try and make sure they don't starve. Make sure the girl Prim, and Katniss and your mother, don't starve."  
"Thank you." I smile at him, surprised by the generosity. One of the peacekeepers break the moment by yanking my arm before the other shoves me out the door. I slip onto the train platform, greeted by flashing cameras and Peeta Mellark.


End file.
